PC hardware forum: Which is the best RAM company?

I have an eMachines T3882 and a Dell 8300. I want to upgrade the RAM for both of them. I was wondering which is the best company out there for RAM? Also if you could give me the specs of the RAM i should get would be great. Also any specials you know of right now. I want to upgrade at least to 1GB. But the max 2GB as that is how much my eMachines takes. I am not sure how much the Dell can take

If you have a mobo that supports Dual channel ram then yes is matters. If you are broke the what ever you got is good. I prefer to use the same brand to make sure I am getting the most out of what I bought. This ensures your ram settings will get the most out of the ram you have.

I bought RAM from crucial 5 years ago for my Dell XPS T550 PC. I also have a Dell Dimension 8300 system and bought from Crucial.com yet again to upgrade my RAM from 0.5GB to 1.5GB.

Also, your question is kinda vague. By ''best'' do you mean the best that $$ can buy or the best value? Either way, there may be some places that are cheaper than Crucial.com. For example, Monarch sold 2 sticks of 512MB Corsair brand for $105 while Crucial sold Micron brand (their) for $115 + $6 for NJ sales tax (both included free shipping). I ended up buying from Crucial site b/c 1) customer loyalty and 2) Monarch was kinda vague about what goes with what. Crucial tells you up front what will work with your prebuilt PC or mobo.

As for specs, I *highly* recommend you visit Crucial.com for 2 reasons. One, u'll see what's compatible with your PCs. E.g. choose brand for Dell, Dimension for model line, and Dimension 8300 for model, and you'll see a list of compatible types/specs of RAM, as well as other info on your PC, like how the 8300 has max of 4GB of RAM and 4 DIMM slots. You can do this for your emachines as well and by motherboard if you put together your own PC. Two, they have alot of links, FAQs, and guides that explain each spec. I don't know what's standard with RAM on the 8300, but i believe you'll want and Crucial will also confirm this as well.....

>PC3200 speed (which is 400MHz)You can mix PC3200 speed RAM with PC2700 (which is 333MHz), but actual speed will underclock to the slowest stick. May as well get the PC3200 since due to the way production is, PC3200 may actually be cheaper if not the same price

>dual channel RAMYou get better performance from buying a pair of RAM of half capacity each instead one whole. Dual channel RAM uses the extra bandwidth available from 2 sticks of 512MB as opposed to 1 stick of 1GB to gain better performance. The pair of modules MUST be the same speed and capacity. They don't have to be the same brand, altho it's recommended they are (which is the reason many vendors sell them in pairs as "dual channel" kits). They also have to be installed into the correct slots for it to work. Check your PC manuals for the RAM installation section. They'll tell u which slots to install to, label the slots, or indicate that it doesn't support dual channel

...and you can look up the rest yourself. When in doubt, just go by the compatiblity list. You may not buy from Crucial, but at least you'll have a better idea about RAM after 5 to 10 minutes of reading.

Just remember you get what you pay for. I understand that just because it is Samsung ram it could have been emported, just the chips and put together on a board in a shammy shop and this could spell poor quality.

I've been thru many sticks, and all have the occasional bad egg (real vista killer, fyi).But as far as things go, for customer service and RMA issues, Kingston gets my vote. Crucial would be next.I fully agree with those who recommend checking the computer and/or motherboard manufacturer to verify their requirements.Ram upgrades are relatively simple, till you try to stick something in which could be considered alien.

Go to Price Grabber and type in memory. I find that yestreday's deal from one firm may well be too high today. I have mixed RAM in all of my PCs and if there has been a problem, I can't detect it. Ideally you would have all one brand but that's not cost effective unless you are starting from scratch.

The OCZ el pc3200 gold is pretty good for the price. You can get 1 gb pretty cheap and its got 2-2-2 timings and the legendary bh-5 memory modules. So long as you dont feed it more the 3v then its got a life time warranty. Heck ppl have been over clocking these past ddr 500 at 2-2-2 timings. (currently my next purchase)

Crucial is the BEST. You can walk through the process from the brand of computer to the model. It will tell you not only what type of RAM to purchase but the MAX you system will support. This is very important since so many people Cram RAM and then complain that they see no improvement in preformance. It also has the best prices by far as well as very fast shipping.

Hi In all my years of buying RAM I have found that if you purchase from Main brand manufactures you'll have the best luck. Keep in mind by staying with the same brand of ram your timming and speed of the ram will be the same so don't mix and try to match ram. I like using Kingstom Ram as it is some of best ever made there QC is the best plus they have the best return policy if you have to return it. GOOD LUCK

Crucial is one of the few companies that manufactures their own chips. The chips that don't pass their stringent testing are sold to other companies who uses them to make RAM under their own brand names.Crucial also guarantees their RAM to work or you can return it. That's why their RAM cost more then others.

My Dell Dimension 8200 came with Samsung RDRAM and I upgraded with more Samsung and it works great! Performance is outstanding and trouble free. Samsung is the only memory that I will use. I got a great deal on eBay. Also, check out Comtread (www.comtread.com). You won't be sorry.

But that's REAL SAMSUNG....Samsung Chips, on Samsung PCBs, assembled and Tested by Samsung ...with their sticker on it.

Crucial is good.

Most of the rest ....Kingston, Corsair, OCZ, etc., are marketing companaies....packagers, distributors of RAM. They don't manufacture RAM chips ... they buy chips, they buy PCBs and have someone assemble them. Or they contract with a RAM mfg and put their labels on them.

Samsung has the highest level of quality control and has across the board compatibility. There is no question or debate about it. They are recommended by most system manufacturers and most computer manufacturers use them as their memory OEM. Hynix, Micron, Elpida, Quimonda (Infineon) and Kingston are also very trusted around the world. People talk about Crucial a lot, but it is memory that is made by Micron, and marketed to the end users as "high performance". So I would rather go right to the source and buy Micron original memory. There are many suppliers and the important thing is to be sure there is a lifetime warranty on the memory, and to be sure you aren't buying "Major on thirds" which can be a module with Samsung chips on it, but manufactured by a third party. The chips on these modules, most likely, have been rejected by quality control by the major DRAM manufacturer and sold to the highest bidder. I think that 18004memory.com does a great job at supplying major brands as well as high quality generic memory. They have just about the best prices, and great after POS support.

If you believe this post is offensive or violates the CNET Forums' Usage policies, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the post). Once reported, our moderators will be notified and the post will be reviewed.

Track this thread and email me when there are updates.Please read before posting

If you're asking for technical help, please be sure to include all your system info, including operating system, model number, and any other specifics related to the problem. Also please exercise your best judgment when posting in the forums--revealing personal information such as your e-mail address, telephone number, and address is not recommended.

Old Thread Warning!

This thread is more than days old. It is very likely that it does not need any further discussion and replying to it will serve no purpose. However, if you feel it is necessary to make a new reply, you can still do so.

I am aware that this thread is old, but I still want to post a reply.

Checkbox must be checked in order to post in this old thread.

Sorry, there was a problem submitting your post. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem generating the preview. Please try again.

Duplicate posts are not allowed in the forums. Please edit your post and submit again.